Smart said he was pleased with the Kings' effort. But they still must overcome their errors, which overshadowed forcing 24 turnovers (15 steals).

"Now it's just a matter of us as a group growing from a mental side," Smart said. "We lost the game not so much from the physical standpoint; we lost it on little key plays at critical moments of the game that could have helped us win."

The Kings believe their offensive problems will improve because they have scorers.

With so much emphasis on improving the worst defense in the NBA last season, Smart expected it would take time for the offense to catch up.